In his annual fall and winter forecast, Oregon state climatologist George Taylor sees a winter that could be similar to 1995-96, when floods, ice storms,and high winds marked the season for much of Western Oregon. The prediction is based on a variety of factors, including sea surface temperatures, long-term wet and dry cycles, solar cycles, winds, El Nino and La Nina events and even hurricanes, which have a strangely close correlation to Northwest weather.